Experts: Casinos not embracing technology

By Liz Benston (contact)

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2003 | 10:38 a.m.

The Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino near San Diego has most things that Las Vegas resorts have, including the latest slot machines and table games, a private gaming area for high-rollers, a nearby golf course and banquet rooms.

It also has several features Las Vegas giants don't yet have.

Slot machines in the casino's high-end area have touch screens and card swipe technology similar to that used by retailers worldwide. Gamblers can slip player cards into the machine and transfer money they have pre-paid at the casino cage to a particular machine and back again.

Tracking software at the casino can use hypothetical gambling models to give Barona's slot players complementaries based on as little as an hour of play. And mini-cameras can transfer digital photos of gamblers to hosts so they can quickly develop relationships with new guests.

The casino industry, in part due to the nature of the regulatory process, has been relatively slow to embrace the kinds of technology that are in use in other commercial industries and even in some California casinos, a panel of slot operations experts told attendees at an event preceding this week's Global Gaming Expo (G2E) trade show in Las Vegas Monday.

Nevada regulators recently obtained funding for more employees to better handle the volume of newly regulated "cashless" slot machines that allow players to gamble using paper tickets instead of coins or bills. But the state Gaming Control Board still is grappling with the social implications of allowing "electronic funds transfer" technology that could allow customers to gamble using their debit cards. The board has outlawed gambling with credit cards over concerns that it could exacerbate problems for gambling addicts.

Companies are pushing for faster approvals of other technology that is expected to drive profits for future casino floors, panelists said.

"Most casinos in Las Vegas are behind the times" in capitalizing on technology that already exists to squeeze further profits from slot machines, said Todd Simons, vice president of slot operations for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Simons is credited with helping to improve slot revenue at the Hard Rock, which is frequented by younger gamblers who prefer table games.

The Hard Rock, like Barona, has purchased a slot machine tracking system that will allow the casino to better monitor play and reward gamblers, Simons said. The system, made by a software company called Mariposa, is owned by Venture Catalyst Inc., the same company that helped develop the Barona casino for the Barona Band of Mission Indians.

Such software can help casinos determine, for example, whether gamblers who spend hours at machines are profitable enough for the property to warrant free drinks, complementaries and other perks, he said.

As for the machines themselves, slots that do well are able to keep customers entertained for hours on end, he said. Still, he said, the slots of the future are likely to have even more interactive features, such as multi-player games that can allow gamblers to interact with one another similar to a table game.

Other developments in slots may include machines that allow customers to attach cell phones with video technology so that, while they gamble, they can monitor what their children are doing at home or keep track of employees at work, said Richard Fiore, a Las Vegas-based casino consultant and a former executive with slot maker Sierra Design Group.

One of the biggest developments will be the use of debit card technology at slot machines, Fiore said. Eventually, he said, casinos are expected to bypass cashless ticket voucher technology altogether in favor of card swipe devices, which would be easier to use, he said.

While Nevada regulators still haven't approved such technology in this state, Barona Valley Ranch will serve as a kind of test case and is expected to further the casino industry's argument for the devices, he said.

Technologically advanced casinos can't sacrifice personal interaction with customers or comfort, experts said.

Technology that allows customers to gamble without ever interacting with employees would be a "worst case scenario" for operators, said Greg Liggett, head of slot operations at Barona Valley Ranch.

At Barona, for example, slot attendants use Palm Pilots to process vouchers, allowing players to remain on their games rather than getting up to go to the casino cage. And preferred slot players -- no longer required to leave for the buffet line or to survive on free drinks alone -- are served food while they play.

"It's all about relationships," Liggett said.